Dragon's Eye
by Koujo Wheeler
Summary: A mysterious girl pleads to Murdock for help... and she brings with her own brand of crazy along with her.
1. Reunion

H.M. Murdock was accustomed to receiving visitors at the V.A.: the same people every time. But that changed one Saturday in September- when I came into the picture.

Murdock had been in his room watching Tom and Jerry, when he received a knock at his door. 

"I am soo sorry," he called. "But the Prince of Lakawana is not accepting any visitors today. Please call back another time." I was standing outside the door and found myself chuckling. I opened the door anyway and walked in.

"Murdock?"

The first thing he noticed about me, other than the fact that I was strangely familiar to him, was that I was wearing an outfit in a style much like his own- a brown leather jacket over a blue t-shirt that read "Call '1-800-I Don't Care,' And Ask For Someone Else," with faded blue jeans, sneakers and a blue backpack with a winged heart design appliqu‚ed on the front slung over my shoulder. My brown hair was in a pony tail pulled through the back of my hat with bangs that made a zig-zag pattern on my forehead, reminding Murdock of a Japanese Anime type style. I was also wearing eyeglasses- copper framed, almost matching the color of my eyes.

"H.M. Murdock?" I asked, again.

"Maaaaaaybe," he replied. "Who are you?" I walked over to him and sat down next to him on the bed.

"I am the Princess of Sheba," I replied. "And I'm looking for your hand in marriage." Murdock stared at me- my face was expressionless and stayed that way... meaning I was either serious or crazy as he was.

"You serious?" he asked. I shook my head.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" I pulled a small box out of my pocket and gave it to him. Murdock tilted his head to the side and looked at the box. "You gave that to..." I was a bit hesitant as I uttered my next words. "To my father. He said that you found two it back in Vietnam." Murdock opened the box and his jaw immediately dropped.

"This is... you are... No way!" He looked at me- same eyes, hair... it couldn't be. Could it? Murdock found himself remembering back to Vietnam, before hooking up with the A-Team. After a moment, he looked at me and smiled. 

"You're Kayla, aren't you?" he asked. "Jeff's little girl... but you ain't so little anymore, are ya?" I gave a nod and smiled.

"You and Dad always called me Kay." I replied. My smile faded as I looked at him, dead serious. "You both also told me that if I was ever in trouble, I should find you- my Dad's best friend."

Murdock looked at me and nodded. It had been a while since we'd seen each other- I had been six years old at the time. I remember seeing Murdock for the first time, as far as I could remember- he showed up at my birthday party with a teddy bear in his hand.

"Kay," Dad said. "This is my best friend, Captain H.M. Murdock." I looked up at Murdock and smiled.

"Then you're my best friend too," I told him, then looked at the teddy bear- a small panda wearing a brown leather jacket and a blue ball cap. Murdock scooped me up in his arms, before sitting down in a chair and having the bear face me.

"This," he said to me in a mysterious voice. "Is Reginald Bear. He's a pilot for a group of guys who help anyone who needs it." He handed him to me. "But he's decided that he wants to stay here and protect you." I smiled happily as I took the bear in my arms and held him tight.

"Thank you, Cap'n Murdock!" I said. "Thank you so much!" I released my grip on the bear and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. A second later, Murdock returned my hug.

"Do me a favor, all right Kay?" he asked me. I looked up at him. "This is important, all right?" I nodded. "I want you to remember two things for me: first, there's fine line between brave and stupid- it shouldn't be crossed, unless you have a damn good reason."

"Gotcha," I said with a nod, not really understanding what that meant.

"And second," he continued. "If you ever need my help, Kay you come and find me. I'll always be there."

As the memories slowly drifted away, I looked up at Murdock and an unsure smile covered my face.

"I need your help, Murdock," I told him. "Really bad." He looked me dead in the eyes- it was as though he was looking into my soul, checking to see if I was for real. A moment later he nodded.

"All right Kay- let's call in the Cavalry."


	2. The Diamond

Before hearing my story, Murdock made a call from the pay phone in the corner of his room. About an hour later, three men I recognized from reading the newspaper came into the room: the A-Team.

"I'm Hannibal Smith," one said. He was a tall man who reminded me of an albino: white hair, light skin- had his bright blue eyes been pink, I would have freaked. "This is Face." He pointed to a blonde haired, blue eyed man. "And B.A." A tall, muscular black man with brown eyes and tons of gold jewelry gave a nod. I nodded back.

"Kay Troy. I-I guess you want me to explain things?"

"Well, that would be nice," Face commented, corrosively. My gaze instantly shifted to him, a glare on my face.

"I can do without the sarcasm," I said as I crossed my arms in front of me. "I came here for Murdock's help, not yours, so feel free to leave whenever."

"Listen here, kid," he replied, shaking his finger at me. "You need to cut the attitude if you expect any help from us." My eyes narrowed, followed by me shaking my head.

"Have it your way then. I'll just handle things myself." I said nothing more- just walked to the door and opened it. I stopped just long enough to look back Murdock, form my fingers into the Vulcan greeting sign and smile. "Live long and prosper, Murdock." With that, I walked out the door.

"Well," Face scoffed. "That was uncalled for." B.A. looked at him and shook his head, an annoyed look on his face. He had always been the one to talk to about kids- he understood them better than most.

"Quiet, Face," he replied. "You could have been a tad less mordant and a bit more supportive. She may act like Murdock, but that girl is scared." He then looked over at Murdock, a questioning look on his face. "You know why, fool?" Murdock nodded slowly, then began to speak.

"Back in Nam," he said. "Before I met you guys, I was on a team with a guy who became my best friend- Jeff Troy. " He took a deep breath. "One day, we came upon something rather interesting..." Murdock reached into the box I had given him and pulled out it's contents: A small gem. It looked like a diamond, except for one small detail- it was red. Not as dark as a real ruby but not as light as a knock off. As his companions stared in awe, Murdock remembered back to the day he and my father had found the diamond. And as I rode the elevator done to the first floor, I thought of the same thing- a story I'd been told many times.

"You sure it's a diamond, Cap'n?" Dad asked as they looked at it. Murdock nodded his head.

"Do skunks smell bad?" came the reply... but it wasn't from Murdock. He and Dad glanced over their shoulders to see a fellow solider, Marine Sergeant Randal Mason, a gun in his hand and pointed right at them. "You seem to have discovered something very rare- I've never seen one before, anyway." He cocked the hammer on the gun. "And I think I'll be taking it now." Murdock looked at Dad and began to laugh. He continued to laugh until Dad started to laugh as well, although he didn't really know why.

"What's so funny?" demanded Randal, as Murdock and Dad continued to laugh. Finally, Murdock spoke up.

"You- you took that gun from my bag?" Murdock asked him.

"Yeah why?" Murdock's smile widened.

"That gun ain't loaded." Dad wasted no time in kicking the gun out of Mason's hand and knocking him down. The most surprising thing though, was that when the gun hit the ground, it went off, shooting away from the group. Dad looked at Murdock, shocked.

"I thought you said it wasn't loaded!" he exclaimed. Murdock simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Oops."

"We had the gem checked out," Murdock said, finishing up the story. "And it was in fact a diamond and I was allowed to keep it. But I ended up giving it to Jeff as a wedding present. We named it the Dragon's Eye... Jeff always liked dragons, so it seemed right." He looked up at Hannibal and shook his head. "No one's ever found a red diamond since..."

"And your guess," Hannibal. "Is that someone found out Jeff and his daughter had it, they did something to Jeff and now they're after her..." Murdock nodded.

"And thanks to him, we won't know." That comment was directed to Face and he knew it.

"Eh, she's just a kid," Face said. "How much trouble could she get into?"

"She's not just a kid!" Murdock yelled. "She's my goddaughter and that makes her my responsibility!" It was true- I was Murdock's goddaughter. And as the team looked at him in awe, Murdock remembered the day Dad had asked him.

Dad nodded and gripped the bar on the car door tightly as he and Murdock were headed to the hospital, where my mom, Jessi, was already in labor.

"Murdock," said Dad. "I know... you're not gonna kill us... even if you are crazy..." Murdock looked at him and cracked a smile.

"Thank you!" Dad chuckled and shook his head.

"But could you maybe slow down a bit?" Before Dad could say more, they arrived at the hospital. Dad and Murdock rushed inside and asked for my mother. Her doctor, James Ventura, was there in an instant.

"Jeff," he said sadly. "I'm happy to say that you're the father of a beautiful baby girl, but..."

"But?" Dad asked, worriedly.

"But, Jessi... she didn't make it, Jeff. I'm so sorry." It took Dad a moment to for what he was hearing to sink in. When it finally did, though, it hit hard. Dad told me that he fell to his knees and started to cry. But then, Murdock took him to the nursery and had a nurse show me to him. As she held me up in the window, more tears rolled down my father's face- this time, they were tears of joy.

"Damn, Murdock," he whispered. "She's beautiful... she's got Jessi's bright eyes." Murdock nodded.

"She's perfect, Jeff." Dad looked up at Murdock and smiled.

"Murdock, I want you to be her godfather." Murdock looked at him, confused. "You're the closest thing she and I have to a family anymore, Murdock and she..." He looked at me once again and sighed. "If something happens to me, Kayla's gonna need someone to take care of her- I want that person to be you." Murdock was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Don't worry Jeff- if she needs me, I'll be there. That's a promise."

"Kay wouldn't come to me unless it was really important!" Murdock yelled at the A-Team, angrily before looking Face dead in the eye. "And because of you and your big mouth, she left!" Face knew Murdock was angry- he was acting sane.

"Calm down, Murdock- a little sarcasm never hurt anyone..."

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream filled the air, flowing into the room through Murdock's open window. It was a call for help. Murdock wasted no time in rushing to the window and looking out.

"Kayla!" 

I had just walked out of the V.A. and was headed home, when a black van stopped right in front of me. Seconds later, a man stepped out- the man who had convinced me to go find my godfather. I instantly turned and began to run away, only to collide with someone twice my size. He twisted my arm behind my back and pressed a cloth over my mouth. I had just enough time to cry for help before I slowly became weak. As I felt my eyelids become heavy, I heard a voice call my name.

"Murdock..." That was the last thing I said- I had blacked out.

Back in his room, Murdock turned from the window and looked at Face. He just stared at him for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"A little sarcasm never hurt anyone." He then looked at Hannibal. "Get me out of here."


	3. Chase

I had made a mistake and I knew it. Sure, Face was a jerk, but I could have put up with him. And now, I was now paying for it. Well, not right now, but I soon would be. My father had.

Let's get off topic, slightly, as I tell my story. As I said earlier, my mother died bringing me into this world, so I was raised by my father, who said he'd rather die than let someone else raise me. And he did raise me for sixteen years... until the day Chase Jones found out about the Dragon's Eye.

Jones was a former New York mob boss, exiled to LA after his ways were proven a bit too drastic. From what I've heard, the Mafioso doesn't like to get family- wives and children- involved in anyway, shape or form. But for Jones, that was considered the best way to do things and he did it often. Too often. Because of that, he was given an ultimatum: go to California or go six feet under. As you can see, he chose California.

He'd only been in California a few months, when he came across an article in a newspaper. It was about my father- he had decided to loan the Dragon's Eye Diamond to a museum for an exhibit. But good old Chase decided that the diamond would be better off in his hands, rather than my father's. As I rode in the van towards who knows where, my hands tied behind my back, I remembered last night- the night I met Chase...

I had noticed that Dad seemed to be a bit off- kinda worried about something. Little did I know, but some of Chase's men had been visiting Dad at his office. But my brilliant idea was to treat him to a movie, which I did, and when we came home that night, we weren't expecting nor looking for any trouble. We went into the house, laughing about the movie we had just seen. I walked into the living room and instantly froze- Chase was in the living room, a group of his men sitting on the couch and chairs. Dad rushed to my side and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Kay, honey," he said softly. "Go upstairs, now." I did as I was told, but quietly crept back down a few steps. I sat there listening, waiting. Wondering what was going to happen. They argued about the diamond, that it would be safer in Jones's hands rather than the museum's... then he brought me into it.

"I know you love your daughter, Jeffrey," he said. "And I'm sure you want her to live to see seventeen."

"Leave Kayla out of this." I knew right then and there what I had to do. I quickly rushed back up the stairs and into my room. After grabbing some supplies and throwing them into my backpack, I went to Dad's room. I had just found the Dragon's Eye Diamond in the bottom of Dad's underwear drawer (Good strategy- normally I wouldn't want to look their either) when I heard a gut wrenching sound come from downstairs- gun fire, followed by a loud thud.

I didn't even have to go downstairs to know what had happened- Chase had killed my father. And someone was coming up the stairs after me. I locked the door and climbed out the window onto the roof above the front porch. I then jumped to the ground and got into my dad's car, a silver Ford Mustang rag top. He left the keys in it again. I kept telling him not to do that. Anyway, I fired her up and got the hell out of there.

"Well, Kayla, what's it going to be?" I was shaken from my memories by Chase's voice and looked up at him. "Are you going to give me the Dragon's Eye, or am I going to have to kill you?" I smiled. Murdock had once told me to never cross the fine line between crazy and stupid- I didn't listen.

"It's a funny thing, Chase," I replied. "You see, I was playing marbles with the President and I didn't think it'd be proper if I took him to the cleaners. Sorry." I knew I'd pissed him off and was looking for his hand to come flying towards my face. When it finally did, I dodged. And I dodged again and again. I kept dodging until he finally quit.

"You'll get yours, Kayla," he told me. "And I will have the Dragon's Eye Diamond. All I have to do is find this "Murdock" you were seeing at that hospital and use him break you down." This would be the part where I should have been scared- notice I said should. I knew that Murdock was part of the A-Team and I knew Jones didn't. Which meant he had himself in more trouble than I was worth.

"She'll be all right, Captain," Hannibal said matter of factly. "As long as she can get them the diamond, they'll keep her alive." Murdock gave him a short, angered sigh before looking up at Hannibal and shaking his head.

"Sure," came the reply. "They won't kill Kay." He said nothing more, but each knew what he was thinking- torture. Hannibal nodded.

"Let's head over to the kid's place," Face suggested. "Maybe we can find something..."

"Her name is Kay," Murdock told him. Face sighed- there was no way he could get out of the dog house with Murdock. The two had been relatively close friends for a long time... even if Murdock was crazy. If he'd known that saying the wrong thing to a teenage girl would destroy that, he'd have kept his mouth shut.

"I'm sorry, Murdock," Face said as he placed a hand on Murdock's shoulder. "We're gonna find Kay- I promise." Murdock was now looking down at the ground, then shook his head. A moment later, he muttered something.

"Speak up fool!" said B.A. "What are you blabbin' about?" Murdock looked up at Face and smiled.

"She doesn't like you, Face." Face was about to ask what his first clue was, when Murdock continued. "No, I mean she really doesn't like you. Jeff told me in one of his letters that if Kay doesn't like you, she'll just look at you and glare. But, if she really doesn't like you, she'll say something. Faceman, you've gotta learn to make friends." B.A. let out a groan.

"Fool, this ain't no time to go back to crazy!" Murdock looked at him, a blank stare on his face.

"Did I leave?"

"Any word on that guy she was visiting?" Chase asked his henchmen, all of which shook their heads.

"No one remembers seeing her there," one said. "And the girl won't say a word either." 

At this time, I was sitting in a corner, hands tied behind me, singing an old Jimmy Buffet song.

"Livin' on sponge cake, watchin' the sun bake all of them tourists covered in oil. Strummin' my six string, on my front porch swing. Smell those shrimp- Hey, they're beginnin' to boil. Wastin' away again in Magaritaville. Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt. Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, but I know it's nobody's fault."

As I attempted to annoy my captors to death, I was also messing with the ropes around my wrists. Unfortunately, I was totally out of it when they tied me up, so I couldn't use a trick I had learned from one of Murdock's letters. He always sent me letters telling of what adventures he'd had with the A-Team- best bedtime stories I've ever had.

Anyway, he had hooked up with a magician's assistant by the name of Jodi and the two of them were tied up in a helicopter by some guys who were trying to knock off a casino. Jodi had flexed her wrists while they were tying her up, making it easy for her to slip off the ropes. I didn't have the luxury of being conscious when they tied me up, so I had to resort to plan B- get my knife out of my right back pocket. 

A small silver Swiss army kinda dealybop, it had been a tenth birthday gift from Murdock. It wasn't as heavy duty as some pocket knives- it only had a nail file, flat-head screwdriver, tweezers and some little thing that I didn't really recognize- I think it has to do with your fingernails, but don't quote me. It also had a pair of scissors, but they were too small for what I needed them for... but the little serrated knife blade always worked for me. And my idiot captors hadn't taken the knife out of my pocket.

"Yes," I whispered as I pulled out the knife and started work on my ropes. Seconds later, I was free. I stood up and grabbed my bag, which the bad guys had conveniently left at my side. Now to work on getting out of here... and finding Murdock.


	4. Escape

Murdock wasn't prepared for what he was going to find in my house. The body of his best friend lying on the floor, filled with gun shot wounds, including a bullet in his forehead was a sight that could drive a crazy man sane. As the rest of the A-Team searched the house for clues, he knelt down next to Dad's body, on the verge of tears. Suddenly, he heard a soft voice speak up.

"I didn't think it would be this bad." Murdock, not quiet believing his ears, spun around towards the voice. I was standing in the doorway with total fear in my eyes, one of which was black, my backpack slung over my shoulder and a quivering bottom lip. "Daddy, what'd they do to you?" I tried to run over to his body, but Murdock stood up and got to me first, stopping me from going any further. "Let me go, Murdock!"

"No, Kay-girl," he said, trying to keep me back. "That really isn't something you need to see right now..." He then took me into the kitchen and sat me down at the table. After letting me cry for a few moments, he realized something- I'd just been kidnapped not to long ago. "Hey wait! How did you get here?" I looked up at him, wiped my eyes and smiled.

"Long story."

After grabbing my bag, I started towards the door. There was an open window in the room, but I figured that Jones would have guards waiting for me to try something. Had I used the window, I would have avoided confrontation. But no, I took the door and ran into five guys twice my size. 

"Aw gee, guys," I said, innocently. "I had to use the little girl's room and I can't seem to find my cell." They didn't buy that- not by a long shot... and they looked like they wanted to kill me. So, I did the only reasonable thing there was to do- I got ready to defend myself.

Allow me to say something- as you recall, when Chase tried to hit me, I avoided his every punch. The explanation: I was a master in Karate, taught to me by my father, who learned it from a master in Japan. But the bad guys didn't know that... so I'll leave what happened up to your imagination.

By now, I had finished my story and was sitting at the kitchen table, my head resting in my hands. Thinking. Realizing. Dad was really gone.

"He killed him," I whispered. "He killed him for a stupid diamond..." I hadn't cried much in my sixteen year existence- about the only time I could remember was the first time I saw the movie "Old Yeller," when I was five. And right then, I wanted to cry so bad... but I couldn't.

Murdock had his back to me right then and was getting me a soda out of the fridge. When he turned back around, he noticed something in my arms. It was a small panda bear, wearing a leather jacket and a blue baseball cap- Reginald Bear.

"You," he whispered. "You still have that?"

"Of course I still have it," I said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it's a silly bear that I won at a baseball throw on Cony Island that I never expected you to keep." I acted offended as I hugged my bear tighter.

"Reggie is not a silly bear!" I cried. "He's... he's my Reggie. He's always there for me." Before Murdock could say any more, Hannibal, Face and B.A. walked into the room, with Hannibal clearing his throat as he did so.

"Sorry to interrupt, Murdock," he said. "But we got a job out in Argentina... Kay you'll have to come with us." I nodded. "We'll have to get you some new clothes too," he continued. "Something that doesn't make you look like yourself- what's your size?" I batted my eyes, innocently and smiled.

"My size?" I asked. "My size is the space I take up, but thanks for asking." Hannibal, Face and B.A. gave me a blank look.

"Dang, Murdock," said B.A. "This chick's crazy as you are." Murdock said nothing. He just smiled.


	5. Albuquerque

"So, explain to me again why we had to knock out B.A." After doing some shopping at TJ Max, the A-Team and I were in an old Army helicopter, over South America. We had started off by telling B.A. that we were driving to Texas, then catch a train to Argentina. He said he didn't care as long as we didn't fly or drive anymore- Murdock and I singing show tunes was more than he could take. The only problem was that instead of grabbing a train, B.A. was knocked out and put in the chopper.

"He's not to fond of flying," Hannibal called from the front seat. He was seated next to Murdock, who was at the controls, while I was seated behind them next to Face. Behind us was B.A., fast asleep. 

"So what's this all about, Hannibal?" I asked. "What's shaking in Argentina that involves us?"

"We've got a group of hostels down there terrorizing a village," he replied. "The client is an old friend of ours- Boomer Rodriguez..." He chuckled. "Actually, Kay, your friend Chase Jones is in charge of these Guerrillas. So we just might be seeing him down here." I smiled.

"Nothing would make me happier." Suddenly, the helicopter jerked to the side. "Murdock, what's going on?"

"Something's shooting at us!" he cried. "Hang on, here comes another one!" The helicopter jerked to the side once again... this time causing Face to fall out.

"Face!" I wasted no time in getting to my feet and going to the opening where he'd fallen out. "See you on the ground, Murdock!" He turned around and instantly knew what I was going to do.

"Kay, don't!" Seconds later, I dived out. The first thing I did in the chopper was put on my parachute- Face hadn't done that was now free falling over the Argentinean jungle. "Aw, man!"

I kept my arms and legs as close to my body, providing less wind resistance and allowing me to move fast. I quickly approached Face and grabbed hold of him, wrapping my arms and legs around him.

"Hang on, dude!" 

I pulled my rip cord- the parachute opened and we slowly floated to the ground. When we got there, I let go of him, got free from the chute and stood in silence... for about ten seconds. 

"That was freaking intense!" I cried. "Oh my God, what a rush, that was great!" Suddenly, I realized Face hadn't said a word. I looked over at him- his face (bad pun) was pure white. "Hey, are you all right?"

"You," he whispered. "You saved my life." He shook his head. "Murdock told me how to tell if you don't like somebody... but you just saved my life." I chuckled.

"Eh, we got off on the wrong foot," I replied. "You have an ego the size of the Atlantic Ocean and I'm a teenager- we're bound to clash at least once." Before he had a chance to reply, I took off my second backpack- it wasn't exactly comfortable wearing it underneath my parachute, but I needed everything inside. I mean everything. "Here we go." I pulled out a package of spice gumdrops. "Want some, Face?" Face shook his head.

"Is that all you have in there?" he asked. "Candy?" I shook my head.

"No, of course not." I emptied out the bag. Yes, there was more candy: Candy hearts, spearmint leaves, red licorice, along with some batteries, a flashlight, cigars (I usually kept them on hand for Dad), rope, matches, paper, Reggie Bear and a gun.

"You have a gun?!" yelled Face. I clapped my hand over his mouth and gave him an annoyed look.

"Why don't you just let all of South America know we're here, all right?!" I removed my hand from his mouth. "Yes, I have a gun, but..." I squeezed the trigger and a stream of water hit Face directly in the eyes. "I don't use guns- never have, never will. It's so much more fun to just kick the crap out of them... a lot less messy too."

As Face wiped the water out of his eyes, then lit up a cigar, I looked in the smaller pocket of my backpack to see what was inside.

"Yahoo!" I exclaimed- not as loud as Face, but loud enough to get his attention. He looked over at me, confused.

"What's up?" he asked. "You got a homing device in there or something?" I shook my head, smiling.

"Nope, even better! I remembered to pack the Eludium Two Thirty Six Explosive Space Modulators!" Face looked at me, blinked a couple times and finally cleared his throat.

"You packed what?" I chuckled, then pulled a small stick out of the bag and handed it to him- dynamite. Another blink. "How the hell did you get your hands on that?!" Another smile.

"I can not divulge that information, thus it might endanger my fellow agents in the field." Without another word, I reached into the bag again, this time pulling out a small hand held radio. "I slipped this guy's partner into Murdock's jacket. It has a five mile radius... hopefully, Murdock and them haven't left that yet."

"How will you even be sure it's turned on up there?" asked Face.

"Easy- I turned it on when I put it in his coat."

"This is Jeff's Little Angel callin' H.M., come on back now, H.M. Over." Murdock knew he was crazy, but this was too much. "Look in your left jacket pocket, H.M. I'm right in there. Over." Murdock did as he was told and quickly found the radio.

"This is H.M., Angel," he replied. "Where you at? Over."

"This may sound a little crazy, H.M.," came the reply. "But I think we should listen to some of that country music before we talk. Over." Murdock was stumped... for a grand total of 1.789 seconds.

"The Dukes of Hazzard- 1980's TV show starring Tom Wopat and John Schnider. "Country Music" was the code for CB channel thirteen." In less time than it took for him to figure that out, Murdock was at channel thirteen. "You there, Angel? Over."

"I'm here, H.M.," I said. "Glad you made it. Over."

"Rebound- you two okay? Over."

"No worries, man- landed with out a hitch. Anyway, neither of us are too keen on being here. Over."

"That's a big ten four, Angel- any suggestions? Over."

"Yeah- as we were glidin' down, I saw a clearing about two miles from the drop zone. Over."

"I remember seeing it too, Angel. You want us to meet you there? Over."

"Read my mind, H.M- E.T.A.: hour, hour and a half. Over and out."

"All right then, Kiddo- see you then. Over and out." I switched off my radio, then looked over at Face.

"Ready to go, Faceman?" I asked. He gave a nod.

"Anytime you are."

"Murdock, are you sure it was Kayla?" asked Hannibal. "For all we know it could be a trap." Murdock rolled his eyes.

"With all due respect, Colonel," he replied. "How would anyone but Kay know that a radio, I didn't even know I had, would be in my left jacket pocket and turned to that particular channel. Hmm- and you say I'm crazy!" Hannibal shook his head.

"All right, you got me there Murdock. Let's go pick them up."

Meanwhile, Face and I were navigating the jungle, heading for the clearing I'd seen earlier. With any luck, we might actually be there before an hour was up.

"Ah," I said, taking a deep breath. "Smell that beautiful jungle air. The invigorating scent of nature and all it's... oh boy." Face had been caught up in my tree hugger-ish rant, but not enough not to notice my "oh boy." 

"What's... oh boy." He was about to ask me what was wrong, when he saw it for himself- we were surrounded by a group of guys with machine guns. AK-47s to be exact. I turned to Face and gave him a nervous half smile.

"I knew we should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque."


	6. Uptown Girl

"It's been two hours," Murdock said, worriedly. "Kay and Face shoulda been here by now." Hannibal shook his head- of all the things to make Murdock act sane, it had to be a missing sixteen year old girl. They had landed in the clearing shortly after receiving the call from me, but Face and I hadn't showed up yet. B.A. was still unconscious, but they had moved him out of the helicopter for safety purposes- they didn't want him to kill them when he woke up. "Man if anything happened to her..."

"Captain," Hannibal cut in. "Faceman isn't going to let anything happen to Kay... in all actuality, it's the other way around we have to worry about." Murdock was about to reply when he heard a voice in his pocket.

"Jeff's Little Angel callin' H.M. Come on back now. Over." Murdock quickly pulled the radio out of his pocket.

"Yeah, Angel this is H.M. Are you all right? Over." I took a deep breath. Considering the fact that Face had a gun to his head while I was talking, telling the truth would definitely get him killed. Lying might get us both killed, but at a slower pace. The alternative- tell the truth, but don't let the bad guys know its the truth.

"We're fine H.M.," I replied. "We just got a little lost, that's all. Hey listen, do me a favor would you? Over."

"What are you doing, kid?" one of our captors asked me. "Any tricks and your buddy gets it!" I looked up at him and smiled.

"Listen, if I don't ask him about this, he'll get suspicious- do you really want that?" He shook his head just as Murdock asked what the favor was. "Okay, listen- remember that word puzzle we were working on this morning? Over." Of course Murdock didn't have a clue what I was talking about... but he figured I was just being crazy, so he decided to play along.

"Sure, Angel I remember. You figure it out? Over."

"Yeah I did- the puzzle was 12-9-15-19-16-9. 'A' equals five. Think you can get it from there? Over." Murdock frantically wrote down the puzzle and the code breaker.

"Yeah, I think I can get it, Angel. When are you gonna get here? Over." There was a pause. A long, unbelievingly long pause.

"I'll be there shortly. Over and out."

"Wait, Angel! Angel, come back!" Nothing. "I don't get this, Colonel," he said. "It doesn't make sense." Hannibal put a hand on Murdock's shoulder.

"Your the authoritative on things that don't make sense, Murdock," he replied. "What's your instinct telling you?"

Murdock said nothing. Instead, he picked up the piece of paper he had written the puzzle on and began to solve it. Seconds later, he handed it to Hannibal. Hannibal took the paper and this is what he read: "12-9-15-19-16-9= Help me."

"She's in trouble, Colonel."

"We maybe in trouble, Faceman." I called. He and I found ourselves in something out of an old Vietnam movie. After being captured in the jungle, we'd been taken to a strange looking military compound, complete with handmade huts, poorly camouflaged munitions depots and me and Face in small bamboo cages, set about fifteen feet away from each other

"Don't think about that right now," he told me. "Everything's gonna be okay, don't worry." Famous last words on Face's part. Seconds after saying that, my cage was lowered to the ground and two huge, ugly looking guys hauled me out. "No, leave her alone!" I heard Face cry out in pain, then looked over to see him holding onto his head- it was bleeding.

"I'll be all right, Face!" I cried. "I'll be all right!" And as they dragged me into a nearby hut, I continued to assure him of that. If only I could assure myself.

"Nice to see you again, Kayla."

"Oh brother, you again?" There are times when I really don't know when to keep my mouth shut. This, as you can probably guess, was one of them. Chase had walked into the room shortly after I was taken in and tied to a chair. He made his comment, I made mine... and I got the butt of an M14 slammed into my right knee. This was the same knee that I had injured during a high school basketball game - our school's gym was concrete with a thin (and I mean thin) rubber lining over it, and I was unfortunate enough to "accidentally" trip over an opposing player foot and slam down on that same knee. So, to put things as accurately as possible, I screamed bloody murder, cussed out the player and was helped off the court by my coach and my father, who never knew my vocabulary was that broad.

Anyway, to get back on topic, I screamed as the gun hit my knee. I never remembered it hurting this much the first time around. No, this time it was much worse... probably because Chase told his lackey to hit me again. And again. And again.

"I told you that you would be getting yours, Kayla," he told me. "And hearing you scream that way makes me feel that this is how you shall continue to get it." I clenched my teeth together. "Oh, poor Kayla- did that hurt?" He snapped his fingers and the gun collided with my knee again. This time, I didn't give him the satisfaction of a scream. "Tell me what I want to know, Kayla, and all this goes away. Refuse and it only gets worse." I looked up at him and glared.

"Your mother wears combat boots." The next thing I knew, a gun went off.

"Yes, we put you in a plane and I don't care if you kill me for it, but you'll have to wait until after we find Kay and Face." B.A. couldn't believe what he was hearing- Murdock wasn't pretending to act sane. He had really gone there, all because of a girl. "She's my goddaughter, B.A.," Murdock continued. "I promised her dad I'd take care of her." B.A. nodded, then grabbed a map.

"Boomer said the Guerrilla compound was around here," he said, pointing to an area on the map. Hannibal looked at it and nodded.

"That's not to far away from here," he replied. "A mile, two at the most. We should get there by dark. What do you think, Captain... Murdock?" Murdock was all ready on his way, fifty feet in head of them.

Face had heard the gun shot and saw two men drag my body out of the hut- I looked dead.

"Kayla!" he yelled. "Kayla, are you all right?!" I gave no answer, confirming Face's worst fears. "Oh God no..." That was two hours ago, and he hadn't seen me since. "Oh god, how am I gonna tell Murdock?"

"Tell me what, Faceman?" Face's head shot up- his team was crouched in front of his cage, two out of three were smiling. Murdock had my backpack slung over his shoulder, prompting Face to give him a questioning look. "We found some guys looking through this and eating Kay's candy. They directed us to you, but I'm not seeing Kay here. Where is she?" Face instantly choked up.

"Murdock," he said... "Murdock, she's..." Hannibal suddenly held up a hand, silencing Face. "What is it?"

"Listen." Face listened- someone in the camp was singing.

Seconds after the gun went off, I felt something jam into my arm. My vision began to fade and the last thing I heard was Chase's voice.

"Keep putting that stuff into her... and tell her friend that she's dead." Some time later, I awoke on a cold cement floor, my hands and ankles tied behind me. I remembered what Chase had said- Face probably thought I was dead. I had to let him know I was alive before Murdock and the rest of the team showed up. But that seemed next to impossible. I felt overwhelmingly tired and my throat was almost bone dry. Screaming was out of the question, as was hoping they left my knife in my pocket- that had been the first thing they took, the second being my bag. So, I did the only thing I could think of- I started to sing.

"Uptown girl- she's been living in her uptown world. I'll bet she never had a back street guy, I'll bet her mama never told her why."

Murdock recognized the song instantly. He'd always liked Billy Joel, although he'd always preferred 'You May Be Right' to 'Uptown Girl,' but he wasn't going to complain. He looked over at Hannibal.

"You guys get Face- I'm going after Kay."

"I'm gonna try for an uptown girl. She's been livin' in her white bread world, as long as..." I silently cussed to myself- I could never get that part right. "And now she's looking for a downtown man- that's what I am."

"I've been told that's what I am." I stopped singing and looked up- Murdock was standing over me, smiling softly. "You okay kid?"

"Hell no, I'm not okay!" I replied as he cut my ropes. "I hurt, I can barely see a thing, I think I'm drugged up... and I can't remember that one line to 'Uptown Girl!'" Murdock chuckled as he took off his jacket and wrapped in around me- I must have felt cold to him. I was probably so cold I didn't feel it. He then lifted me in his arms and held me close.

"Don't worry, Kiddo- I'm gonna get you out of here."


End file.
